Even Easier Sunday

I kinda did nothing today. I folded some clothes but that hardly counts as I did it really late in the evening. I talked to my friends. I avoided a phonecall. Honestly, that was about it.

So let's start the year in review.

Favorite Book

We Sold Our Souls -Grady Hendrix

I read a lot this year and I'll do a top books list later (maybe) but I have to say this was my favorite book. It's the one I just can't shake out of my brain. I think about it a lot. 

The book is from the perspective of a grown-up, and that helps tremendously. It's not that I'm against young protagonists, it's just that I'm kinda bored with youthful povs. The secondary pov is that of a younger woman, but she's still at least a grown person. Our main protagonist is a woman who has been through hell and back again. And then some. She's complex. When we meet her, she's at a very low point in her life, but a very relatable point for anyone who has ever basically failed at things. 

I don't want to say her journey from that point on is magical (even though it is) because gives it the perception of softness. Nothing about this book is soft. It's a very well done horror novel in that it weaves the horror elements into places where it's easy to doubt their existence. They could just be tricks of the light or the product of someone's deranged mind. 

This book is also a great ode to music. Former bandmates have a code they developed from (my favorite) a Runaways song. When our main characters meet, they have a long debate about what music they have in common and can finally only conclude it's Dolly Parton. Moreover, the book rests on the backbone of the 'musician seeks revenge on former evil bandmate who stole all her work.' It rests there, but it doesn't stay there. 

One of the things I always loved about Metalocalypse was how the metal would alter the reality around it. The band could basically use their music to change the world. This book is kind of the opposite. The music made by our band here is a way to unravel the lies and reveal the nasty reality of what the world really is. It can't change it so much as reveal ways to survive it. 

I seriously loved this book. It's one of the things that really got me through 2020. If you have a chance, check it out.